Reply to Homework load in 5th and 6th grades at basis dc?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]NP. Have you visited schools in other countries? Finland? Singapore? China? Poland? Any of them? They do not spark joy. Schools are for educating children. Only in America do we expect beautiful facilities. There are NO studies claiming windows, fields, pretty walls, etc. are necessary to educate children. This is why we suck. We spend money on the wrong things and not on our teachers.[/quote]

PP -- Have you? A lot of Singaporean and Finnish schools don't have the dank, windowless appearance of Basis. I am an immigrant and realizes that while the educational system in the US as a whole "sucks" to use your phrasing, compare say MA on the PISA rankings v/s Finland and you'd be surprised. Again, the OECD/PISA rankings for China are not for China as a whole, but for Shanghai.

Back to the topic of the thread - [b]Note that Basis is not supposed to be "any old school", it is supposed be the rigorous ideal to which DCPS should be aspiring (at least in the eyes of parents). [/b]But we were not impressed by our visit there. Again, it is not just about homework and rigor. Simple things like science labs for upperclassmen are pretty minimal and cannot be expected to be anything but, given the space and logistics. We asked for instance about the Physics labs and were told that computer simulations were used extensively for many concepts. We are physicists and having both taught undergraduates and graduate students, know that simulations are useful after students have gained an understanding of the "physical" system and the underlying natural laws.

While we agree that Basis may be the more "academic" alternative that DCPS lacks, especially EOTP or the Hill but kids do need the trappings like brightly lit classrooms, a good art program, sports etc. to thrive and succeed.

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I'm a BASIS parent and absolutely do not at all think that its program should be replicated by DCPS. It is really different and isn't something that all families will want. Charters are supposed to be different and innovative -- and incubate new ideas that can be replicated in part by others. DCPS did actually hire a former BASIS DC administrator a few years ago. She was in charge of the 6-12 DCPS math curriculum, and the major initiative was offering Algebra at every DCPS MS and EC, not just a handful of schools.

For those who may stumble on this thread in the future, I will share what I think makes it worthwhile for students who do want more challenge. Starting high school content in middle school sets a pace that puts students on track for at minimum 1 AP class in 9th, 2 in 10th and 3 in 11th (that number is required of all, as is passing a minimum of 1). Many parents absolutely don't want that for their kids -- which is fine. Most students in the high school are not taking ANY APs in 12th, but rather are doing post-AP seminars in science, humanities, math, and foreign language. This schedule also leaves time for a mandatory "college counseling" class that lasts 2 trimesters. During that class, students have time to focus on drafting college essays and applications, researching places to apply, and in-school time to find and apply to scholarships. There are 2 college counselors, so the ratio is far lower and the guidance is more personal than is possible at other schools. About 1/3 of students elect to pursue an optional capstone project for the last ~3 months of the senior year, on any topic of their choosing under the supervision of a teacher they choose.

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I work as an independent college counselor.  I'm DC based, but work remotely with most of my clients. I haven't worked with BASIS DC clients yet, but I've counseled a number of BASIS AZ students.

From what I've seen, pushing APs down to 8th-11th grade doesn't tend to work half as well as the franchise likes to claim.[b] Most BASIS students would clearly be better off taking their APs in 10th-12th grades - they'd score higher if they were more mature, enjoy the learning more, grasp and retain the material better and would be more likely to earn college credit for their efforts (at schools accepting AP credit; far fewer elite colleges do this than a decade ago).[/b] The college counseling emphasis at BASIS is fine, but the capstone isn't necessarily all that hot either.  The experience tends to be a lonely one for 17 year olds, off in their own academic orbits too young.

Burnout is a real problem for many students up the chain. Challenge, rigor and acceleration have their limits in what's primarily a cookie cutter program housed in weak facilities (not just in DC, but elsewhere in the country).[/quote]

This is exactly why we're unimpressed with BASIS' curriculum on steroids.  Whether my child is ready for this in 6th or 7th grade is besides the point.  The experience will be more meaningful for a more mature learner.[/quote]

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